Ridiculous trend? Oh, go on then, it’s the weekend, a tattoo on your face? Ok, this is going to take some explaining.
Not since Celtic bands, (kinda guilty), or designs of colourful flames, (guilty), has a tattoo craze seemed quite so… um… not my cup of tea.
Yet I’m not exactly Mr Style, so ignore my personal fashion insights and check out this wacky craze coming straight out of Michigan – which is probably the first thing I can think of to come out of Michigan since The White Stripes.
‘AstroFrecks’ is the invention of cosmetic tattoo artist, Jessika Knapik, of Depot Town Tattoo in Ypsilanti.
She’s been tattooing constellations in her clients freckles, using semi-permanent ink – which apparently makes it look exactly like natural freckles – the tattoos fade with time too, unlike the bloody flame thing I got drawn on my calf when I was 18.
Jessika told Bustle:
As many people are right now, I’m super into crystals and what your best intentions can do and sending your goals and wishes out into the universe, so [the idea for Astrofrecks] just sparked from that.
I also love things with hidden meanings – this way you could get your Mom’s astrological sign, your Dad’s, your Grandma’s, and kind of pay tribute without getting a giant heart that says ‘Mom.’
Alright, this is possibly the only way I’d have a goat tattooed on my face.
The Astrofrecks are applied differently to normal tattoos – they use a mix of different pigment, application and techniques, which are less harsh on the skin.
Knapick said:
Cosmetic tattoo artists are trained a little more in aesthetics — beauty, face shapes, brow shapes. Cosmetic tattooing is also semi-permanent, so this won’t last forever.
It’s perfect for freckles because the older ones will be more faint and the newer ones will be darker, exactly like real freckles and if you’re sick of it, you just stop getting touch-ups and go back to how your face was before.
It’s ok, even stars will die one day, as well as ours and our planet, and everything we’ve ever even thought about caring for, just to put this into perspective.
Maybe I’m not quite convinced? But at least it’s not tattooing a cat.
Tim Horner is a sub-editor at UNILAD. He graduated with a BA Journalism from University College Falmouth before most his colleagues were born. A previous editor of adult mags, he now enjoys bringing the tone down in the viral news sector.